JamesLenthall, Vice-President, contact James at: James Lenthall
Don't ask James about his first visit to Dana Point Harbor - he was barely a year old.
He moved with his family to Dana Point in 1971 and has quite literally grown up with our beloved harbor.
His family has had boats in the harbor almost continuously since it opened, and James was raised in the boating lifestyle and developed an early respect and love for the ocean, boating and our harbor which continues to this day.
James lives in Dana Point with his wife Stephanie and two young boys - Carsen and Riley - who he is raising with the same love and respect for the ocean and our harbor; his boys are members of the DPYC youth sailing program, and Carsen races his sabot for the DPYC youth sailing team.
James has been deeply and passionately involved in the harbor revitalization project since 2006, was elected to the DPBA board of directors in 2011, and strives to protect and promote our Dana Point boating culture.

"We didn't expect a perfect resolution to every issue, but we do expect to achieve clarity and progress on these issues on behalf of our boaters," said James Lenthall, DPBA vice president.

Since the Boater Liaison Program was established in May, DPBA board members have reviewed every question submission, then organized the submissions before selecting which topics to present to harbor management for discussion.

"Some issues were specific to a individual boater -- in which case, we responded directly to that boater," Lenthall said.

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"With such intense demand for Dana Point boat slips, it is vitally important to boaters on the waitlists that slips are assigned based on a fair, equitable, transparent and properly monitored and enforced policy," Lenthall said.

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"Since publishing our report, we have received several follow-up issues submitted via our Boater Liaison Program webpage, seeking additional information or clarification on the original responses -- in addition to entirely new issues to be addressed by DPBA and harbor management," Lenthall said.

The organization is in the process of reviewing new submissions with plans to meet with OC Dana Point Harbor management to discuss those issues before the end of the summer, Lenthall said.

"There are so many moving parts in our harbor -- with multiple agencies and companies responsible for different parts of our harbor -- that sometimes it's difficult to know who to raise a particular issue with," explained James Lenthall, vice president of the DPBA.
"What we are doing with this program is giving Dana Point boaters a single safe forum to raise any issue on their mind, and we do the work to come up with an answer or solution from the appropriate agency."

Boaters can submit a question, suggestion or issue of concern via the association's website, and then DBPA board members will take those concerns and ideas to the appropriate agencies for their consideration and response.
The board will then communicate that response to the submitter.

If a specific issue is raised by several boaters or if it is of relevance to the boating community at large, the responses will be posted on the association's web page, Lenthall said.

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"It's really about improving communication," Lenthall said.

At those meetings, DBPA board members will press the agencies to provide meaningful responses to the issues raised by submitters, he said.

Boaters can also submit their suggestions or concerns anonymously, if they prefer.

"You tell us what is on your mind, and we will take it to the right agency -- and we will get you an answer," Lenthall said.